Checklist · Wills, Estates, Probate & Succession
Will instructions, capacity and undue influence checklist (NSW, with other state notes)
Checklist for taking will instructions in NSW: seeing the will-maker alone, testing capacity against Banks v Goodfellow, spotting undue influence and suspicious circumstances, mapping assets outside the estate, family provision risk and an execution plan.
- Kind
- Checklist. Steps or checks to work through and tick off.
- Where it applies
- New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland
- AI use
- Red Keep AI out of the decisive steps. A lawyer does the work.
- Law stated as at
- 17 October 2026
- Status
- Maintained. Checked against the cited sources on 17 October 2026.
- Version
- 1
- Source
- Written for this library
When to use it
Use for every will instruction, and especially for older, unwell or dependent clients, late-life changes, gifts to carers or new partners, and instructions brought by a beneficiary. It records the lawyer's own assessment; it does not replace a medical capacity assessment where one is needed.
How AI may be used
Lawyer-led. Instructions are taken from the will-maker personally and capacity is assessed by the lawyer (and a doctor where needed), not inferred by AI. AI may prepare a blank question agenda from background facts and transcribe an interview only with consent and in an approved tool.
AI may
- Turn background facts into an open-question agenda and a blank note structure for the lawyer
- Draft a family tree and asset list from documents the client provides, for the lawyer to confirm
- Transcribe the instruction meeting in an approved tool, with the client's consent, for the lawyer to correct
AI must not
- Must not answer the agenda questions or fill in the client's instructions
- Must not assess or score capacity, undue influence or suspicious circumstances
- Must not process medical records in a tool not approved for health information
The lawyer checks
- The will-maker was seen alone and the instructions came from them
- Each Banks v Goodfellow element tested and recorded in the will-maker's own words
- Red flags escalated: medical assessment, second meeting, or declining to act
Method: how the Green, Yellow and Red levels are decided. This is guidance for planning, not legal advice.
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The summary, the law it rests on and the AI-use guidance above stay public. Privacy.
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